


The King's Pleasure

by Tokyo_the_Glaive



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Genre: Barebacking, Blow Jobs, Dom/sub Undertones, Established Relationship, Hand Jobs, Healthy Relationships, Kink Meme, M/M, Multiple Orgasms, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Post-Canon, Riding, Safe Sane and Consensual, Safewords
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-17
Updated: 2016-11-17
Packaged: 2018-08-31 14:14:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8581648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tokyo_the_Glaive/pseuds/Tokyo_the_Glaive
Summary: The guards always give Gerik dirty looks as they stand aside to permit him entrance to the palace. They know why he’s here, and they don’t approve. Gerik doesn’t care so much. He’s here because he wants to be, and because Joshua wants him to be. It’s as simple as that.
(Or, the one where Joshua's the King of Jehanna following the war and he and Gerik love each other tremendously.)





	

**Author's Note:**

> I saw a prompt on the Fire Emblem kinkmeme on tumblr that asked for Gerik/Joshua, topping from the bottom. It kind of...ran away with me. Many thanks to arthoure/aurumite for going through this and supporting me when I hit a series of walls. Enjoy!

The guards always give Gerik dirty looks as they stand aside to permit him entrance to the palace. They know why he’s here, and they don’t approve. Gerik doesn’t care so much. He’s here because he wants to be, and because Joshua wants him to be. It’s as simple as that. 

Except, nothing about it’s simple, which is why Gerik invariably comes in the dead of night, alone, hidden away from prying eyes. The only ones who see him are the guards who judge him, and the servant who escorts him to the king’s quarters. Everyone else is asleep or kept away. It bothers Gerik in a way that he refuses to think on too much. (Or, he does think about it, but it’s unpleasant and threatens to spoil a perfectly good thing. He doesn’t want to lose this, no matter how imperfect it is.)

Tonight, like other nights, the servant leaves Gerik at the doors to Joshua’s quarters after a perfunctory knock. Never once has she spoken to Gerik, and she doesn’t start now. Instead, as she leaves, there’s a sound from inside, and then the door’s open. 

Joshua stands before him wrapped in a silk robe. It isn’t one Gerik’s seen before—this one’s black, with gold trim and a design like a dragon up one side. The belt is tied loosely about his waist. Joshua’s hair falls to his mid back, and the red is a startling contrast with the black of the robe. 

Gerik brings his eyes back up to Joshua’s as he says, “Evening.” Joshua smiles. He, too, looks Gerik up and down, appraising. He licks his lips, and Gerik stands up a little straighter. 

“Come in,” Joshua murmurs. He backs into his own quarters, and Gerik crosses the threshold. It’s one of the things that confused Gerik most when they started this arrangement— Joshua doesn’t usually like to wait for what he wants. In every other circumstance, from the battlefield to his old gambling haunts, Joshua strikes fast and true. Now, though—now Joshua takes his time. Maybe it’s because he knows that Gerik will wait with him, patient and ready and wanting. There’s no need to steal time when Gerik gives it so freely. 

Whatever the reason for Joshua’s behavior, Gerik enters Joshua’s quarters. His fingers itch to brush that flimsy fabric off of Joshua’s shoulder, to bite and suck and plant kisses all along that lovely unmarked throat, but he hasn’t been given permission, so he makes no move to do anything else. He walks inside and waits. 

“Close the door and lock it,” Joshua orders. Gerik does. Having the windows and doors firmly shut and locked was one of Gerik’s initial demands, and Joshua has never failed to ensure it. That he makes it seem like Gerik’s doing it for Joshua is a lovely bonus. 

“Over here, now.” Gerik makes to move, but Joshua says, “Knees.” 

Immediately, Gerik drops to his knees and turns away from the door. Joshua’s quarters are a massive sprawl of rooms. There’s a reception area, where Gerik currently is, that’s attached to a sitting room and a massive bathing area and an even bigger bedroom with an impressive balcony. Gerik crawls to the bedroom, where Joshua’s sitting on the edge of the bed, legs spread. 

“Here,” Joshua says, tapping the space directly in front of him. His tone suggests boredom, but Gerik knows better; Joshua’s the one who summoned him, after all. 

When Gerik settles just between Joshua’s legs, Joshua reaches down. He cups Gerik’s cheek, fingers brushing the tender skin of his throat. He looks at Gerik as if he’s something small and beloved 

Gerik allows Joshua to tilt his head up, exposing his neck, and he sighs as Joshua strokes the tender skin. His fingers come up to trace the scar across Gerik’s nose, then back down to cup his chin. 

“Lovely,” Joshua murmurs.

Gerik is not lovely, and he knows it. He’s all muscle and scar tissue and sinew. There isn’t a graceful bone in his body unless one counts lethality as elegance, and even then, it’s a near miss. Still, to hear that word from Joshua’s lips—Joshua, who is the very embodiment of loveliness—Gerik can’t help but yearn to believe. 

When Joshua lets go of Gerik’s chin, though, it’s all he can do to keep in a murmur of disappointment. Gerik’s not one for touching, but this—this is an exception.  _ Joshua  _ is an exception. 

“What shall I do with you, I wonder?” Joshua asks. His words hang heavy in the air. Gerik remains silent; when Joshua wants him to speak, he’ll use his name. It’s one of their rules. 

“I’ve been thinking about you all day,” Joshua says. His hand floats just by Gerik’s cheek. The desire to lean into it, to feel the touch of those hands against his face, is almost too much, but Gerik perseveres. “All day, every day. Did you know that, Gerik?” 

Gerik licks his lips and finds them dry. “No,” Gerik answers. 

“Well,” Joshua says. “Now you do. I’ve found I can’t think of anyone else beside me but you.” Gerik shuts his eyes. It’s too good, it’s— 

“Gerik?”

Gerik flashes two fingers, sure that Joshua’s looking.

“I see,” Joshua says. “Open your eyes.”

Gerik obeys. Joshua’s expression has changed—hardened, if only superficially. Behind that façade of control is worry. Joshua always feels terrible when he crosses a line, but he’s made Gerik swear an oath that he will always tell Joshua the truth about his boundaries. 

Joshua’s hand comes to rest against the back of Gerik’s head. He tugs back hard, exposing Gerik’s throat and making him gasp. This is better. This is safe, known.

Joshua spreads his legs a little further and says, “No hands.” 

Gerik obediently crosses his hands behind his back, grasping his elbows as he leans forward. The fabric of the robe is just as soft as Gerik expected; it tickles his cheek as he nuzzles it aside, exposing Joshua’s pale, well-toned thighs. He rubs his face against the sensitive skin, reveling in the sharp intake of breath from above, then works his way higher up. 

Joshua’s hard—possibly painfully so. Gerik swallows as he noses Joshua’s cock. Joshua’s hand tightens in his hair again, urging him on, but Gerik—this isn’t something that can be rushed. 

He keeps an eye on Joshua’s face as he licks the tip, collecting a bead of precome. He’s never been a fan of the taste, but it’s always worth it to see Joshua’s mouth fall open. Joshua never once looks away from him, always transfixed, as if he cannot believe his own luck. 

Frankly, Gerik may be the one on his knees, but he knows full well that he’s the lucky one. 

Gerik runs his tongue down the length, then back up to the top. By the time he repeats the motion a second time, Joshua’s breathing hard, staring intently. He murmurs an obscenity but gives no further orders, so Gerik proceeds as he desires. He takes the tip into his mouth, laving the underside with his tongue, keeping it deliberately messy. Joshua’s hips twitch, but he keeps himself down, his fingers digging into his own thigh. Gerik pulls back for a moment, allowing Joshua to catch his breath, then resumes, this time taking just a little bit more. 

Joshua curses again, and Gerik hums. Careful with his teeth, he continues, down, down, ever-aware of Joshua’s gaze, until his lips wrap around the base. 

“I want to—” Joshua starts, cutting off with a groan. Gerik taps his thigh once, and Joshua fists both hands in Gerik’s hair, thrusting up. Joshua’s cock slides to the back of his throat and he gags once before getting himself under control. 

“I missed you so much,” Joshua says, stuttering. His thumb slides in Gerik’s mouth beside his cock, holding him just a little farther open. “Thought of you every—every day.” Joshua’s fingers trail down to Gerik’s throat. “Couldn’t concentrate. Look what you do to me, look—look at me.” That’s unmistakably an order. Gerik’s eyes snap open; he doesn’t remember closing them. “Look—that’s— _ Gerik _ ...” Joshua’s pace grows ever more erratic, and then Gerik feels him cum in the back of his throat. Almost immediately, Joshua begins to shake with aftershocks, and Gerik pulls off. He swallows, Joshua’s fingers returning to his hair. Joshua’s mouth hangs open, exhaling sharply as he lays back, sated. Without Joshua’s cock in his mouth to distract him, Gerik’s aware of the harsh dig of the floor on his knees and the way his thighs strain from the awkward position, but he doesn’t move until Joshua motions for him to. 

Carefully, Gerik stands. Joshua, just catching his breath, rakes his eyes up and down his body, drinking him in. Gerik’s been ogled before, but the sated, well-fucked look on Joshua’s face always brings a flush to his face. He cannot look away. 

He wants to, though. He knows what comes next. He’s done his—the word catches in his throat even though it isn’t spoken aloud— _ job _ . Joshua’s loose-limbed and happy, and it’s late. It’s time for him to go. He knows it. Joshua knows it, too. 

“Undress.”

Gerik hesitates, thrown off.

“What was that?” he asks.

Joshua licks his lips, swallows. “Did I say you could talk?” he asks, voice hoarse. Gerik takes in a sharp breath as Joshua continues, “I’m not done with you yet. Undress. Or...” He tilts his head, considering. “Number?” 

Gerik knows he should hold up three fingers. He should stop this—whatever this is. 

Gerik holds up one finger, and Joshua’s resolve hardens. He reclines on his elbows and waits. Carefully, Gerik sets to work on his clothes. His fingers don’t shake, but it’s a near thing. This is new. He doesn’t know what to expect, and that’s fine, but it’s far more intimate than anything they’ve done before.

He can’t think about it, not right at that moment. He pulls off his shirt first, and the sound Joshua makes—a cross between a sigh and a groan—tells him he’s doing well. Gerik’s always been proud of his physique, if nothing else. He’s well-built, to say the least. There are those who like that sort of thing. Gerik’s never been one of them, but there’s a newfound hunger in Joshua’s eyes that speaks to his own preferences. 

Gerik almost regrets starting with his shirt when he realizes that there’s no sexy way to take off the rest. His boots need to be unlaced, and his trousers are inordinately difficult to get off. He’s never  _ had  _ to take them off for these meetings. It’s always about Joshua—that’s always been enough. 

“Sit,” Joshua orders. Gerik looks at him, and Joshua pats the bed just beside him even as he moves to get up. Slowly, Gerik sits. Joshua’s bed is truly fit for a king—soft and plush, the sheets alone are probably worth more than Gerik’s made in his lifetime. 

The thought’s taken from his head when Joshua takes Gerik’s place on the floor. Gerik sits up, startled, but Joshua makes a shushing noise and says, “Left.” 

Gerik’s at a loss until Joshua tugs at his left leg. He lifts it obediently, and Joshua guides the boot down onto his thigh. 

“Good,” Joshua murmurs, and Gerik can’t help but stare. Joshua sets to work on the laces, his long fingers making quick work of the knots. “Stay still now,” Joshua adds as he slides the boot off. “Don’t want to kick me, do you? Right.” 

Gerik complies. His world has shrunk to Joshua, there on the floor, working intently on his feet, as if—as if— 

Gerik can’t even finish the thought. His brain ceases to function the moment Joshua, having removed both boots, scoots in closer to set to work at Gerik’s belt. 

“You don’t have to,” Gerik says, his voice hoarse and low. Joshua’s gaze snaps up to him, and the absurdity of the remark hits Gerik full-force. Of course Joshua doesn’t have to do this— he doesn’t have to do anything. He’s a  _ King _ . Gerik’s a mercenary—or, right now, a  _ companion  _ of sorts. It’s the kindest word Gerik can think of, though the truth’s in the back of Gerik’s mind. 

“Hush,” Joshua says. “I want to see you. Lay back.” 

Gerik closes his eyes shut and does as he’s told. He can feel Joshua working at his belt, running one hand over his stomach. Gerik has the urge to cover himself. He wasn’t told  _ not  _ to, but Joshua said he wanted to see him. He can’t easily if Gerik’s got his arms crossed like a petulant child. 

“Hips up,” Joshua says. Gerik lifts his hips off of the bed and feels Joshua’s fingers tuck into his waistband. He tugs off Gerik’s trousers and undergarments simultaneously, and the brush of fabric against Gerik’s cock has him groaning. 

“Oh,” Joshua says. Gerik swallows and squeezes his eyes even tighter. A finger ghosts over his cock, and his hips jerk. He hasn’t been touched by anyone else in so  _ long _ ... 

“Look at me,” Joshua says. Gerik doesn’t obey. “Gerik.” 

Gerik’s eyes open. Joshua’s standing at the foot of the bed. His hair’s in his eyes and his eyes are roving Gerik’s body. Even in the dark, he’s the picture of serenity—no,  _ regality _ . 

The realization of what’s about to happen hits Gerik harder than stampeding oxen. Joshua climbs onto the bed, straddling Gerik’s waist. Gerik freezes as Joshua settles himself on his stomach, hands braced on either side of Gerik’s head. The urge to grasp Joshua’s hips is strong, but Gerik’s torn between pulling him closer and tossing him off altogether. This is more intimate than Gerik had ever anticipated these encounters might turn.

They’d talked about it, early on—Gerik had asked if Joshua wanted to fuck him. Joshua had demurred, saying that wasn’t his thing, and Gerik believed him—still does. Judging by their positions, Gerik had it backwards. 

“Gerik?” Joshua asks.

“It’s nothing,” Gerik responds.

Joshua leans down, his hair tickling Gerik’s bare skin. “Hey, break for a moment, okay? You look like someone just told you the world’s ending.” 

“It’s nothing,” Gerik repeats. 

Joshua sits back. He’s quiet for a long time before he says, “I meant it, you know.” 

“Meant what?”

“That I missed you.”

Gerik peers up at Joshua’s face—earnest, open. Gerik props himself back up on his elbows, though it doesn’t do him much good; the bed’s far too plush. “I believe you,” Gerik says. 

“Then why—” 

Gerik shakes his head. “It’s not that I don’t believe you, but give a guy a little warning,” he says. 

Joshua looks down at Gerik’s chest, tracing a pectoral. Gerik shivers. “I didn’t know how to ask,” Joshua says.

“That’s a new one.”

“I’m being serious. I’ve been thinking about this for weeks.” 

Gerik frowns. “Look, it’s not that I don’t want it—I do. I want all of you, everything you’re willing to give. But this—” Gerik hesitates, unsure how to proceed. “This is one of those things.” 

“I don’t follow.”

“Yes, you do.”

“What if I don’t?”

“You’re not dumb, Joshua,” Gerik says. “You know exactly what I’m talking about.” 

Joshua shrugs. “Maybe it doesn’t matter to me.” 

That stings. “Well, it matters to me.”

“You really care what anyone else thinks of us?” Joshua asks.

Gerik squints at Joshua. “That has nothing to do with this,” he says.

“Doesn’t it? You’re worried about my  _ reputation _ —if I do this, I’ll be unclean, or whatever the old scriptures say.”

“No, not at all,” Gerik replies.

“Then what?” Joshua demands. “I thought you’d want to...”

“Want to what?”

Joshua rolls off of him. “Never mind. You must think I’m an ass, springing this on you.” Gerik snorts. 

“You  _ are  _ an ass,” he says. “Tell me.” 

“You’ll laugh.” 

“I can’t promise I won’t,” Gerik says, “but it’s me. How long have we known each other?” 

Joshua sighs and rubs his face. “A long time,” he says, “but we see so little of each other.” 

“And?”

“Doesn’t that bother you?”

Gerik considers the question and says, “Would you like the honest answer?”

Joshua rolls to face him. “Of course,” he says.”

“It bothers me,” he says. He brushes a strand of hair out of Joshua’s face. “I worry about you when I’m on a job. I think of you at night, and every day. You are more important to me than could ever be deemed acceptable.” 

Joshua grins. “Acceptable to who? Me?” He nudges Gerik to lay flat on his back again, and Gerik complies. Joshua climbs back on top of Gerik. “Well, it is acceptable.” 

“Joshua—” 

“I want you,” Joshua says, “every moment of every day. You once promised me you were mine.” 

“I did,” Gerik says, voice thick. “I do.”

“I want to be yours,” Joshua says, “in every way you’re willing to give, just like you’re mine.”

Gerik’s pulse is up in his ears, and while he wants nothing more than to reach up and drag Joshua down into a kiss, he can’t ignore the voice in the back of his mind, ever-practical as it is. “The court will riot,” he says. “The kingdom needs an heir. The two of us can’t produce one.”

Joshua nods. “It’ll get one,” he says. “We’ll figure it out.”

“We?”

“You’ll stay, won’t you? Here, with me.”

“Joshua...”

Joshua bows his head. “Or—I can’t ask that, can I?” He laughs. “Funny. Never thought I’d be the guy to ask someone to stay. I always thought it’d be the other way around. Funny how life works.” 

“I can’t abandon the guild just yet,” Gerik says. “Until the day that I do, though I can promise that I’ll always come back to you.” 

Joshua peers at him from under his bangs. “And after?” he asks. 

Gerik reaches up to cup Joshua’s face. Joshua leans into it, waiting, and Gerik says, “After, I’ll stay. I can think of no better place to be.” 

Joshua’s smile is small, but the blush that takes over his face is as vibrant as his hair. “I’d like to kiss you,” Joshua says.

“Why, Your Highness, I had no idea,” Gerik says, faux innocence in his voice. Joshua silences him with the kiss, and Gerik kisses back in full force. 

“I do love when you take charge,” Gerik says when they break, Joshua’s breath hot against his cheeks. 

“Do you want to—

“ _ Yes _ .”

Joshua grins and sits back. He fumbles with the belt of his robe. Gerik keeps his hands down against the bed as Joshua moves with agonizingly slow tugs until the knot is loosened. “I’ve been thinking,” Joshua says, sliding the soft material off of one shoulder, then the other, casting it aside. Gerik can’t look away. “I considered having you prepare me. You’d like that, wouldn’t you? I thought you might. But then I had another thought.” The crease of Joshua’s ass slides down Gerik’s cock, and it’s all Gerik can do to stay still. “What if,” he says, “we didn’t have to wait?” 

Gerik groans. He can feel it now—Joshua’s ass is slick with something viscous and cool. He fists the sheets and swallows. 

“I want you to lay there, right where you are,” Joshua says. “No touching, no bucking. I set the pace—as fast or slow as I like. I ride you, and you take it. You cum when I say. Understand?” 

Gerik manages to say yes, but it comes out more as a hiss than anything else. Joshua laughs. “Good,” he says. “Remember, hands down…”

Carefully, Joshua lines himself up. Gerik can only watch, dumbfounded, as Joshua teases him, then begins to sink down.

It’s… Gerik can barely  _ breathe _ . He’s fucked people before, to be sure; the sensation isn’t a new one, but this is  _ Joshua _ , of all people, and he’s—

Joshua sighs, mouth open, thighs shaking as he holds himself up. For a moment, Gerik thinks it’s too much—Joshua’s not prepared enough, he’s had a change of heart—and then Joshua slips a little further down, his cheeks going as red as his hair, and Gerik can’t think too much more.

Joshua curses, his hands coming to rest on Gerik’s chest to keep himself mostly upright as he eases the rest of the way down.

“Gerik,” Joshua says. “Gerik, Gerik, I…  _ Ooooohhhh _ ….”

When he lifts himself back up, the slide just this side of too rough, Joshua lets out a sound that’s nearly a scream, and Gerik has to hold onto the covers so as not to pull Joshua back down and  _ take _ .

Joshua sets a slow pace, his fingernails digging into Gerik’s chest as he moves tortuously slowly. His eyes are screwed shut and there’s sweat beading at his hairline. Gerik can’t help but stare, his mouth dry as Joshua’s thighs  _ quiver _ with from the joint pleasure and exertion. Gerik’s hips jerk of their own accord as if to help; keeping still is more a challenge than he’d expected.

“Gerik, I…” Joshua’s voice comes out as little more than a whisper. His eyes snap open, pupils dilated to an extreme. “I, I need… You…” He can’t finish the thought. He looks tortured, strung out with pleasure in a way that looks agonizing.

_ Well-fucked _ , Gerik thinks, though they can do better.

Gerik decides, in that moment, that while there is a time and a place for rules, this is not it.

In moments, Gerik’s hands are on Joshua’s hips. Joshua keens, throwing his head back, and Gerik plants his feet on the bed to gain a bit of leverage. The motion sends Joshua tumbling forward, his hair falling in Gerik’s face as his breath warms his cheek.

“You want me to take over?” Gerik asks, steadying Joshua. He wants to just move—Joshua feels so good, so tight and warm around his aching cock—but he has to make this good for Joshua.

“ _ Yes _ ,” Joshua moans. Gerik is only too happy to comply. He thrusts, pushing Joshua closer to him. He starts slowly enough, going deep and languorous, so he can be sure that Joshua’s not in any pain. Joshua tucks his face into the crook of Gerik’s neck, face red and hot. It’s agonizing to keep it slow; Gerik can feel the pressure building down low in his belly. He bites his own lips to distract himself, as if anything could draw his attention to the body draped across him.

“More, closer,” Joshua manages to say eventually. Gerik can feel Joshua’s teeth against his collarbone as he speaks. Gerik laughs, low and short. He wraps an arm about Joshua’s waist and brings the other up to hold his head. Joshua sinks his teeth into Gerik’s shoulder, and Gerik retaliates by flipping them over.

“Playing rough?” Gerik asks. He can hardly  _ speak _ this feels so good, but this is about Joshua. It’s always been about Joshua—Joshua, who keens, throws his arms around Gerik’s neck and pulls him back down.

It’s easier this way, with Joshua below him, with Joshua’s legs around his waist pulling him in. Gerik has to brace himself on that infernally soft bed, but with Joshua’s hair splayed out like a corona and Gerik’s name spilling from his lips, Gerik barely notices the work it takes to keep himself upright.

Joshua’s nearly folded in half, his face flushed with pleasure. He rakes his nails up Gerik’s back, no doubt leaving marks, until his fingers fist in Gerik’s hair. Gerik allows himself to be pulled down into a kiss that’s less lips and more tongue and teeth. Joshua nips at Gerik’s bottom lip, drawing blood that he laps away. Gerik’s mind goes fuzzy, and then he’s thrusting quickly, seeking his own pleasure. Joshua lets out a high-pitched whine.

“Yes, please,  _ yes _ —Gerik, Gerik,  _ oh _ …” Joshua pants. “There, right there…” His toes curl and he arches back. Gerik wants to mark that lovely throat, and the thought of it, coupled with the intense heat and the knowledge that this is  _ Joshua _ who’s offered himself to Gerik, that it’s  _ Joshua _ who’s wrapped around him and who he’s inside—all of it has Gerik spilling, his pace—brutal, now, were he paying attention—stuttering as he falls to pieces.

His hips jerk, slowing to a halt as Gerik tries to catch his breath. His ears are ringing, but that abates soon enough.

“Look at me,” Joshua says. Gerik instinctively looks down. Joshua’s eyes are shut still, but he looks at ease. Happy.

“How could you tell?” Gerik asks.

“Lucky guess,” Joshua replies. He cracks one lazy eye open. “Clean me up?”

Gerik smiles. “A moment,” he replies, scooting down. He slides out of Joshua, eliciting a keen, and sets to work on Joshua’s cock. Joshua stiffens, his hips jerking up in surprise.

“Already—Gerik, what are you—”

“Shh,” Gerik says. He works Joshua slowly. He’s soft—Gerik’s never been with a man who’s been hard while being fucked—but Gerik knows better.

“Gerik, I already— _ ah _ —came earlier,” Joshua says. He’s blushing furiously now, even harder than before.

Gerik smiles and twists his wrist, his fingers brushing just so, and Joshua’s arching up again.

“Too good,” Joshua pants. “Want you to feel it, want—” Joshua can’t finish the thought before he’s cumming, ropes and ropes of it. His entire body shudders with orgasm until he’s writhing against the sheets.

Gerik licks up the not inconsiderable amount that’s gotten onto his hands. “Now,” he says, licking each digit. Joshua curses in one of Jehanna’s rural dialects, something he no doubt picked up years ago, and Gerik laughs.

There’s a cloth on the bedside table that Joshua nods toward, too sated and pleasured to move much at all. Gerik’s legs are sore, and he’s exhausted, but he has to—no, he  _ wants _ to do this. Carefully, he wipes Joshua down, careful not to be too light or too harsh with his touches. When he’s finished, Joshua pulls him back to the bed and snuggles up to him.

“You’re staying,” Joshua says. “Can’t let you leave after that.”

“Can’t?” Gerik asked, only half-serious.

“ _ Won’t _ ,” Joshua amended. He yawned. “I’d ask where you learned that but then I’d have to execute someone.”

Gerik wisely doesn’t answer. He doesn’t want to talk about past partners now, the good or the bad.

“I have to leave,” Gerik says.

Joshua looks at him through half-lidded eyes. He reaches up to cup Gerik’s cheek, and Gerik leans into the touch. “I don’t deserve you,” Joshua murmurs. Gerik takes his hand, but Joshua refuses to move it.

“You’re the King,” Gerik says. As soon as he does, he recognizes that it’s the wrong move. “And you’re  _ you _ , Joshua. I wouldn’t be with anyone else.”

Joshua stares at him, though the intended severity is ruined by just how  _ pleased _ Joshua looks.

“I won’t have anyone else,” Joshua says. “I’ll wait. When you come back, I’ll be here.”

“I won’t be long,” Gerik says, “I promise. But if the guards don’t escort me out, they’ll think something’s happened to you.”

Joshua frowns, curling in closer to Gerik. “But you’ll come back,” he says. Gerik strokes Joshua’s spine.

“I’ll come back,” Gerik says. “After all, I’m yours.”

Joshua laughs a little, and Gerik can feel him smile against his neck. “I’m yours, too,” he says. “Don’t forget.”

Gerik hums and pulls Joshua in tighter. They have a few more minutes, though it’s stretching it. This is the longest Gerik’s ever stayed. A few more minutes, and then Gerik will go off into the night, with only the memory of Joshua’s body and his hands and his lips to warm his bed until they meet again. Just a few more minutes.


End file.
